(Raleigh, N.C.) – The office of sheriff is one of the oldest and most respected constitutional positions in the nation’s judicial system. The N.C. Sheriffs’ Association is a statewide organization of all 100 county sheriffs that advocates in their best interests. State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell, CPA, helped the association to reclaim some missing money that will enhance that mission.
During a recent review of system data, staff in DST’s Unclaimed Property Division (UPD) identified money belonging to the Sheriffs’ Association. Treasurer Folwell presented Eddie Caldwell, the association’s executive vice president and general counsel, and several sheriffs with a check for $1,899 at an association executive board meeting Wednesday, Jan. 25.
“Sheriffs, deputies, law enforcement and corrections officers throughout North Carolina provide an invaluable service to our citizens, putting their own safety at risk every day to keep us secure. I am glad to be able to return this money to its rightful owners so that it can be used to further the mission of protecting the public,” said State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell, CPA.
“In this time of rising costs, every dollar counts. Nearly every sheriff’s office in North Carolina has money in NCCash.com waiting to be reclaimed, and the Department of State Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Division is ready, willing and able to assist,” Treasurer Folwell said.
“We are grateful for Treasurer Folwell’s hard work to return money that will go a long way toward the association’s mission to enhance and protect the Office of Sheriff and public safety in North Carolina,” Caldwell said.
The Sheriffs' Association’s mission statement highlights its goals “to serve as the statewide voice to protect, promote, preserve and enhance the Office of Sheriff in North Carolina through education, training and legislative initiatives that increase public safety and protect the rights of the citizens of North Carolina.”
The association provides services such as courthouse security assessment, traumatic incident response, a statewide disaster assistance network and cooperative purchasing programs.
UPD, commonly called NCCash.com, is the repository for 17.7 million properties valued at $1.02 billion under DST’s custody awaiting return to the rightful owners after being lost, misdirected or overlooked. More than 19 million owners are associated with those properties being safeguarded by DST.
UPD paid 178,857 claims amounting to more than $105 million during the 2022 fiscal year that ended June 30. Both numbers were historical records. The returns are on pace to set another record this fiscal year. Through Nov. 30, UPD has paid 74,979 claims totaling over $44 million from NCCash. Part of that total has been disbursed through the NCCash Match program, a no-hassle, expedited system that eliminated paperwork processing. As of Nov. 30, DST paid 44,200 Cash Match claims totaling about $12.6 million.
Under state law, UPD receives and safeguards funds that are escheated, or turned over, to DST. The unclaimed property consists of bank accounts, wages, utility deposits, insurance policy proceeds, stocks, bonds and contents of safe deposit boxes that have been abandoned.
Unclaimed property can result from a person or entity forgetting they are due money, or from a move of location and forgetting to provide a new address. It also could result from a typing error in a house number or zip code in an address, a name change, or data loss from a business converting its computer system. As society becomes more mobile and steadily moves to electronic transactions, the risk of having unclaimed property has increased.
More information, including how to find out if you are owed money, can be found at https://www.nccash.com/.
